CMS updates visitation guidance for nursing homes

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, yesterday issued updated visitation guidance for nursing homes, noting that more than 3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered to nursing home residents and staff.

Among specific changes, facilities should allow indoor visitation at all times and for all residents, regardless of vaccination status, “except for a few circumstances when visitation should be limited due to a high risk of COVID-19 transmission,” the guidance states.

Given the ongoing risk of COVID-19 transmission, the agencies also continue to recommend facilities, residents and families adhere to the core principles of COVID-19 infection control, including maintaining physical distancing and conducting visits outdoors whenever possible. For more on the guidance, see the CMS fact sheet.

Organizations should ensure that their state and local public health guidance also permits visitation.